1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to document support devices, and more particularly relates to a desk top supported or suspended stand for supporting documents in two or more viewing dispositions, and document holders which can be selectively interlocked with the support stand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The term "document" hereinafter refers to a single page or a multiple number of pages.
The term "document holder" hereinafter refers to that type of device which is adapted to secure a document, such as in the form of a book, spiral bound manual, loose-leaf binder or the like, as well as conventional document stands, such as will be described, which are modified in accordance with the principles of this invention.
Document support stands for supporting a document or document holder are well-known in the art and come in a variety of configurations and structures. Many conventional stands are designed to rest on a desk or table top, and to support the document at a substantial viewing angle to the horizontal.
One of the primary disadvantages of many conventional viewing stands is that they are not adaptable for supporting a document in multiple viewing positions without manipulating the document on the stand.
For example, one conventional type of document support stand is L-shaped and includes an easel back with a bottom support ledge on which the document or document holder rests. This easel type stand is designed primarily to support a book, spiral bound manual, loose-leaf binder or other form of document holder with its spine in a vertical disposition, the edge of the spine being supported by the ledge of the stand. The stand is not designed to support the document holder on the side edge of the holder's back cover with its spine horizontal, nor is the document holder designed to be supported in such a manner, as the document holder supported thusly oftentimes folds uncontrollably at creases formed in its cover, collapses under its weight or generally cannot be maintained upright and open on the stand. As a matter of course, such documents holders, and other types as well, are often simply placed horizontally on the desk top surface causing the operator to have to refocus in different planes and distances when referring back and forth between document and typewriter or video display terminal.
Certain other types of conventional viewing stands include a document securing bar, page retainer or sentence marker which extends across the viewing surface of the stand. Many times the securing bar is suitable to hold a manual or loose-leaf binder against its viewing surface with the spine of the manual or binder in a horizontal disposition, especially if the manual or binder is lightweight and not bulky.
However, changing the reading pattern requires removing the securing bar and manipulating the manual on the stand, and then readjusting the securing bar to support the manual in its new disposition. Furthermore, the securing bar itself may interfere with the material being read, and it may be necessary to constantly readjust the position of the securing bar.
Another type of conventional stand is the clipboard type, having a support back and a clip fastener mounted on the support back. Like other conventional document support stands, manipulation of the document on the stand is required to change the reading pattern. Furthermore, this type of stand is impractical in use because it requires refastening the document each time a page is turned. Also, the clip fastener may be undersized to support a bulky manual.
The problem of having to change the reading pattern is exacerbated in today's society where many of the manuals digested are of a technical nature and include diagrams and charts in columnar form. This is particularly true with present day computer software documentation and training manuals in which text is presented in a standard book format, with pages reading from left to right and computer screen illustrations, flow charts, programs and tables being presented from top to bottom. The reader must constantly adjust his reading pattern by manipulating the manual. This constant need for reorientation by the computer operator trainee is inefficient, confusing and tiring, all of which impairs the learning process.
The further problem with document support stands which are currently available is that they are not adapted to adequately support the newer forms of loose-leaf binders. These binders are often of the type which use a loose-leaf D ring mechanism, with the mechanism being offset from the center spine panel of the cover or jacket and being mounted on the inside back cover of the binder. Offsetting the ring mechanism is advantageous for storing pages uniformly and compactly. However, such offsetting requires the cover or jacket of the binder be made considerably larger than a conventional binder cover. The large cover consumes valuable desk top space, and the binders are cumbersome and poorly supported on the side edges of their cover by conventional viewing stands.
No currently available viewing stand has the ability to rotatably support a binder mechanism of a loose-leaf binder, which mechanism may be removed from the cover or jacket of the loose-leaf binder and directly secured to the viewing stand, without the jacket.
Furthermore, the viewing stands which are currently available have their own supporting mechanism, such as a bracket mounted on the back of the viewing stand to support the stand in a particular angular disposition for viewing documents. No common support mechanism is currently available which is adapted to interfit with and support various types of document support stands so that different stands may be interchanged on the same supporting mechanism. Consequently, many documents are not properly supported for viewing because of the absence of a common document support mechanism.